As we hurtle into the second episode of Knuckles, it seems that the Sonic spin-off is laying its cards on the table in regards to exactly how much it can do with its computer generated lead. The first episode was something of a treat that not only gave us cameos of Sonic and Tails, but also saw the titular echidna square off in an incredibly expensive looking battle with a Kid Cudi who was armed with giant, glowing power gloves. Needless to say, it looked like a million dollars – at least – but I had a sneaking suspicion that even Paramount+ doesn’t have pockets deep enough to keep up that level of digital chicanery.
So it’s with a more modest second episode that we get a real feel for what a show starring Knuckles will realistically be like. The good news is that it’s still a legitimately fun and perky experience, but the shapes the show might have to contort itself into in order to make it to six episodes might piss off fans who actually expect Knuckles in their Knuckles show….
After a candy coloured battle that saw Knuckles brawl with rogue G.U.N. agents Mason and Willoughby and utterly destroy a bowling alley in the process, the warrior echidna from another dimension found himself imprisoned within a glowing, blue trap that we hold him indefinitely. The plan is to deliver him to the villainous Buyer for various villainous reasons, but there’s one thing that the two tech-reliant agents haven’t counted on – sheriff deputy Wade Whipple.
To be fair, thevreason they haven’t accounted for the doughy policeman is chiefly because he’s a total idiot, but that doesn’t mean that Wade hasn’t got the heart of a lion – even if it’s a particularly stupid lion. Reasoning that the whole reason he’s on his way to the bowling tournament in Reno in the first place is to learn the warrior mindset from Knuckles, Whipple psyches himself up and concocts a childish, Mission: Impossible inspired plan to free his burly friend, but what with Wade bring Wade, things immediately go wrong right from the get go.
When he isn’t accidently blowing up his new car with all the bits he bought to enact his childish rescue attempt, he’s finding himself fighting for his life against Mason’s smashy power gloves. But due to a little luck and a whole mess of weaponized slapstick, Whipple actually manages to free Knuckles and the two make a quick getaway. However, Knuckles seems genuinely pissed that they fled, claiming that beating their feet couldn’t be classed as a total victory, however, after Wade counters it with a well placed argument, the brawny mammal starts to soften his ways.
Still, as they’re now fugitives of the law thanks to a spot of misinformation, Wade and Knuckles select the only place to lie low that they can think of – his childhood home.
The nature of sustaining a budget in this time of prestige television us a tough balance to negotiate. While you want to give viewers the best production values you possibly can, you don’t want to bankrupt the damn studio while you’re at it, so it becomes a juggling act to try and find the best level of both that you can. As a result, more effects heavy shows may have the odd episode where some of the more expansive visuals have to be put on a leash in order to help the cash supply stretch to that all-important, big finish that the fans expect.
Now, if this all seems like overly serious business talk when Knuckles’ target audience isn’t really going to give that much of a shit about budgets and balances, you’d be absolutely right as long as the show keeps the prat-falls coming at a steady rate, but there’s always going to be that breed of mature fan (like me, I guess) who is always going to complain that the expensive-to-render title character has been waylaid in favour of their cheaper, fleshier co-star.
However, while Knuckles does spend most of the episode either trapped in a glowing blue cage or sat prone on the bench of a fast food restaurant, Idris Elba’s fiery red alter ego is rarely actually off screen, so even though his action quota has significantly dropped from the previous episode, he’s vitally still a large presence during the show.
Still, it’s up to Adam Pally’s capering man-child to carry more of the load, and while more cynical viewers may find his child-like idiot routine brutally butting against the boundaries of believability, I’d like to remind you that we’re dealing with a franchise that not only boasts three foot, speedy, rainbow coloured wildlife, but that regularly let’s Jim Carrey go off on any bizarre tangent he so wishes, so maybe Pally should be cut some slack. If truth be told, I actually find him pretty funny, and the writers lay out some great jokes to keep the energy high. The throwaway flashback that reveals that Wade studied for his deputy exam by watching Bad Boys is an utter cracker and an Abbott and Costello style gag that sees him and Mason pause their fight in order for the agent to take a phone call from his mother may be an oldie, but it’s a goodie. We even get a reference to Knuckles’ gliding abilities from the videogames that pays off with a neat, E.T. inspired, visual gag.
There also seems to be an effort to reverse the type of partnership the first two films attempted, with Sonic being the wild and crazy guy with a minimal attention span, and James Marsden’s Tom being the human straight man. However, here it’s the CGI character that’s the more restrained character (thanks to Elba’s trademark booming tone) and the human one that’s the more lawfully chaotic of the two – which also helps with those nagging budget issues – and while the second episode is far less spectacular than the first, the characters still give it that carefree, fun loving feel as the purse strings get noticably tightened.
So what’s next – well, I have to be honest, but if we’re getting introduced to Wade family in the next episode, its probably going to mean bad news for fans of scenes of flamboyant CGI, but with more comedy characters piling up, I’m fairly sure that the short running time will just whizz by. However, one question does remain and it’s a fairly damning one: did anyone watch Sonic 1 and actually wondered aloud if we were ever going to actually get a back story for Wade Whipple? Probably not, so it’s all on Knuckles’ broad, furry shoulders to make sure such character expansion doesn’t quill the mood…
Still good, still fun, but from here, the show has to knuckle down.
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